Free(ish) Orchids

Years ago, shortly after we retired, a friend told me about her ‘waitress savings plan’ at a prior job. 

Basically, any coins she got as tips went into a big jar for… emergencies, vacations, whatever. She said they added up fast!

So we started saving any spare change that came our way. 

We’d usually put it in a box on the closet floor, then once a year take it to the bank and use the $$ for something special on vacation. 

Fast forward to 2020 and due to ‘you know what’ we never got around to cashing in the previous year’s coins. We didn’t cash them in 2021… 2022… 

Jaclyn loved digging through the boxes, counting, stacking, making mazes and asking why we still had them. 

The first day’s deposit

So she’ll be happy to know that we finally turned in 6 years worth of coins. 

Since coins are heavy, we spread it out over 4 days, eventually cashing in 7 shoeboxes and 1 small witch’s cauldron worth of coins.* 

And yes, they added wayyyyyyyy up surprisingly fast. 

We spent part of the $ buying 7 orchids at the Santa Barbara show, and a bit more on grow lights and shelves for our new hobby. Aren’t they pretty??

* We used our credit union’s heavy duty coin counting machine, for a small fee, and the $ was deposited directly into our account. Easy peasy. 

Orchid Date Day

We headed to Santa Barbara this morning for the 78th Annual SB International Orchid Show. 

It’s running all weekend but we figured Friday would be the least crowded, both at the show and on the freeway.

So many different sizes, kinds and colors!

I was fascinated by the different leaf shapes

and the plants with soooooo many spikes/flowers in full bloom. 

They were amazing. 

 Counting the spikes…

We took advantage of the vendor hall to pick up a few (ok, more than a few) mini’s and regular size phalaenopsis. 

 One of my favorite colors

Pics of those tomorrow…

Award-winning display

Horse Camp

First up - this is block #10 of 20 for the wildflower 100 days project. Halfway done!

Donovan went to horse camp this week and loved it.

The temps were so low he had to keep his heavy-duty jacket on all day but it didn’t faze him.

Now there’s talk of him having weekly lessons 

and stable chores at a place near their house. 

So exciting.

First QOQ

A pal and I challenged each other to make a Quilt Of The Quarter using precuts we had on hand. (Here) And look! Still two weeks to go and my windmills quilt (top) is done!

48 x 56”

I played around with several layouts and this was the best one. Still not thrilled with the white stripes but it looks better in person. The metallics are really pretty and sparkly.

Of course, my pal did something much more complicated and finished it a couple of weeks ago… But this is done; I used up fabric I’ve had for years; and it’s going to my Guild’s donation drive where someone will benefit and hopefully love it. Time to start planning QOQ#2.

100 Days Update

I missed 2 days of embroidery when we traveled to and from SC, but I’m still moving along on my wildflowers.

Tonight’s finish is #9 of…. I need to look up the pattern and see how many total blocks I need. Still enjoying it!

Rachel is making good progress on her cross-stitch project, 

still a bit more to go though. Such gorgeous colors. 

It’s not part of 100 Days but all the windmill quilt blocks are done and the first 2 rows (of 7) are sewn together. It’s so much prettier in real life where you can see the metallic sparkles.

This will probably go to the quilt guild for donation unless someone claims it beforehand.

Travel Back

Saturday was long. 

Queen Charlotte in the lobby of Charlotte Airport.

We left Matt’s house about 1:30 pm and finally arrived home at 12:15 am - about 14 hours total, counting time zone changes. Fortunately the whole journey, while tiring, was pleasant and drama-free. 

Matt had some drama before we left. He woke up to half the house with no electricity, including the heating system. Not a good thing when temps are predicted to be in the 30’s this next week. Two companies, four trucks and one crane later, the utility company said the fault - a nicked wire - was on their side of the meter and thus their problem/responsibility. It couldn’t be fixed that day so they hoisted a generator onto the back deck and hooked it up. Hopefully things will get fixed this week. 

A few more pix from the covered bridge day: 

A picture of me ⬆️ taking a picture of Mary taking a picture of me ⬇️. 

The original farmhouse

Last Day in SC

Going to be sad to go home tomorrow. And sadder once we get there with no baby grands around. BUT…

… today was filled with fun, food and the wild baby lizard Donovan caught twice! The boy has fast hands.

 Donovan’s baby raptor

The big boys took a quick trip to the huge BMW plant and ‘museum’, aka visitors center. They had a couple of interesting cars on display, a merchandise store and not much else. Factory tours were on hiatus but the guys will definitely be back once they resume in July 2026. 

Lunch was in Greenville at a collection of small food vendors operating out of remodeled shipping containers. 

 Practicing their ‘cool’ moves

Great selection of food, fun atmosphere and absolutely no pictures taken, which is a bummer as it was very fun. Would definitely go back. 

Next up was our main event - 

exploring Conestee Nature - and wildlife - Preserve (here), 

640 acres of watershed, boardwalks, trails and observation decks, with lots and lots  of wildlife. 

Mary said there were hundreds of turtles in this one pond alone ⬇️. 

Donovan had so much fun - and is going to sleep well tonight - trying to see and experience everything the Preserve had to offer. 

Note for next time: snack stop at Buttermilk Sky Pie (here) was a letdown. Friendly people but the pie, especially the crust, was not great. Dinner at Pig Out BBQ (here) was fantastic. They only do barbecue and sides and all of it is done well. Best ribs and potato salad (and “large fries” too) we’ve had in this trip. Definitely going back next trip.

Adding this as a reminder for Pop of something he wants to make.